Imation CEO Russomanno To Retire; Lucas Named Successor

By John Laposky -- TWICE, 3/22/2010

OAKDALE, MINN. — Imation’s board of directors announced last week that Frank Russomanno, vice chairman and CEO, will retire in May. Imation president and COO Mark Lucas will succeed Russomanno as president and CEO.

Russomanno, 62, will step down immediately following the company’s annual meeting on May 5. He has served as vice chairman of Imation since March 2009 and as CEO since April 2007. He joined Imation at its spin-off from 3M in 1996.

Russomanno began his career with 3M in 1973 as a sales coordinator in New York, and quickly advanced through a variety of sales and marketing management positions. At Imation, Russomanno held multiple executive postions, including VP of Imation’s data storage businesses. From 2003 to 2007, Russomanno was COO and also served several months as the acting CEO, prior to being named CEO in April 2007.

“I am very proud of what our Imation people worldwide have accomplished, not only since our 1996 spin-off, but also in the short time since we began our transformation to a brand and product management company in 2007,” Russomanno commented. “We have established a strong foundation for the future and begun executing Imation’s new strategy to optimize our legacy storage businesses, grow our portfolio of brands and products, and extend into new consumer electronics and accessories.”

Prior to joining Imation, Lucas served as chairman and CEO of Geneva Watch Group. Before that, Lucas was president and CEO of Altec Lansing.